Real World
by alsdssg
Summary: Young Eragon, Roran, and Katrina sit around and daydream about what they want to be. Set preEragon.


Real World

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or the song. And I have Eragon and Roran referring to each other as brothers here because Eragon doesn't find out that Roran's really his cousin until Marian dies.

"Hurry up, slow poke, or the monsters'll get you," Roran shouted over his shoulder.

"They aren't any monsters in the Spine!" Eragon protested.

"Oh no? Then what do you think happened to Ismira?"

"She fell," Eragon protested. "Everyone knows that."

"You're six. How do you know what everyone knows?" Roran asked.

"I just do," Eragon said angrily. "Besides, monsters are silly. They don't exist."

"Who almost cut off their hand last month trying to chop down the tree outside your window because you were convinced that it was going to eat you while you were asleep?" Roran asked.

"You're so mean to your brother, Roran!"

Both boys turned at the sound of the female voice.

"Katrina, what are you doing here?" Roran demanded.

"Roran, she found our hideout," Eragon whined.

"No, really?" Roran muttered.

"Excuse me, I did not find your hideout. I just happen to be here because I want to prove to my father that this place isn't all that scary!" Katrina protested.

"She followed us here," Roran mumbled. Once again, Eragon was skeptical. Roran kept insisting that the red-head liked him, but Eragon just didn't see it.

"I did not, and I already told you why I'm here," Katrina said.

"I wasn't talking to you," Roran shouted.

"Well, don't talk about me to other people while I'm right here," Katrina said. She smoothed her already immaculate skirts and sat down in a huff.

"You're in our hideout," Roran said pointedly.

"Well, find a new one, cause I'm staying," Katrina said, sticking her pert little nose into the air.

Eragon and Roran just stood there in complete and utter silence for a few seconds before Eragon sat down next to Katrina and said, "Well, I guess she can join. She's nicer to me than you are anyway."

"Thank you, Eragon," Katrina said, beaming at him.

"That's not true," Roran said. He sat down next to them and put his arm around Eragon. "See? I'm nice to him."

Katrina rolled her eyes and smoothed her skirts once again. Meanwhile, Eragon wrestled out of his brother's grip.

"So, what do you usually do here?" Katrina asked.  
"Nothing a girl would want to do," Roran shot back.

"Um, different stuff," Eragon said.

Roran gave him a dirty look.

"Now you're being mean to him again," Katrina said angrily.

"I am not!" Roran said.

"Can we just do something?" Eragon pleaded.

"Fine," Roran and Katrina said. They both crossed their arms and glared at each other.

"Why don't we talk about what we want to be when we grow up?" Eragon asked.

"Well, I'm going to be a farmer, and you're going to be a farmer, and Katrina's going to be a housewife, so…"

"I think he means what we'd do if we could do what we wanted to," Katrina interrupted. "Yeah, that's what I meant," Eragon said.

"I'd be a rainmaker," Katrina said matter-of-factly.

"What?" both boys asked.

"You know, I'd have Horst make me a whole bunch of big crates, and then I'd fill them with rain that I made, and then people could buy rain from me when they needed it for their fields," Katrina explained.   
"I guess that makes sense," Roran said after a long moment of silence.

Katrina smiled at him. Then she realized what she'd done and wiped the grin off her face.

_I wonder what it's like to be the rainmaker  
I wonder what it's like to know that I make the rain  
I'd store it in boxes with little yellow tags on everyone  
And you can come see them when I'm...done, when I'm  
Done_

She then turned to Eragon and asked, "What would you be?"

The six year old paused to think. It took him a couple minutes, during which Roran almost shouted at him but was stopped by Katrina's reproachful glance. Finally, he said, "I want to be a hero."

"What kind of hero?" Katrina asked.  
"I dunno," Eragon said. "I guess I'd be a warrior, but I guess the king's already got lots of those. So I'd be a better warrior. I'd be the best sword-fighter, the best arrow-shooter…"

"You mean archer," Roran interrupted.

"Yeah," Eragon agreed. Suddenly, it hit him. "But I wouldn't be just that. I'd be a wizard. A really good one. And maybe I'd have a dragon, like the king."

"Why do you want to be like the king?" Roran asked him.

"But I don't," Eragon protested. Everyone in Carvahall knew that the king was a bad man and that nobody wanted to be a bad man. "I'd be a good guy. I'd help my people with my powers. And they'd all be so proud of me. And they'd love me. And I bet no one here would believe it."

_I wonder what it's like to be a super hero  
I wonder where I'd go if I could fly around downtown  
From some other planet, I get this funky high on yellow  
Sun  
Boy I bet my friends will all be...stunned, they're stunned_

"You've got that last part right," Roran snorted.

Eragon looked to Katrina for defense, and she said, "Well, you couldn't really do that. I mean, maybe you could be the best archer, but swords are so much money, and nobody here really has enough money for them. I don't think Horst even makes them. And the king has the last dragon in whole world, and there aren't any dragon eggs left. And who'd teach you magic?"

"I didn't actually think it was gonna happen," Eragon mumbled, embarrassed. "I just wish it could."

"You did start this whole thing," Roran said, looking at Katrina accusingly. "And it's not like you could be a rainmaker. At least there are archers and swordsmen and dragon riders and wizards."

_Straight up, what did you hope to learn about here  
If I were someone else, would this all fall apart  
Strange, where were you, when we started this gig,  
I wish the real world, would just stop hassling me_

"I know that," Katrina said. "Now, what would you be, Mr. High-and-Mighty?'

"Well…" Roran began. "I don't know what I'd be. I'm gonna be a farmer, so why bother?"

"You're just afraid of looking stupid after you called us stupid," Katrina chided. "Now come on. What would you be?"

Roran sighed and said, "I'd be some kinda leader. Maybe not a king, but maybe a general or a governor or a village chief even. I'd tell people what to do, and they'd do it. But then I guess I'd have to make sure I told them the right thing, so I dunno. But it would be nice to have people doing whatever I said. Yeah, I'd be a leader. Besides, even I could do better than King Galbatorix."

_I wonder what it's like to be the head honcho  
I wonder what I'd do if they all did just what I said  
I'd shout out an order, I think we're out of this man get  
me some  
Boy don't make me wanna change my...tone, my tone_

Katrina giggled nervously, and it suddenly occurred to Roran and Eragon that what they were discussing was treason. Even though they were only six, seven, and eight, they knew what that was.

"I told you this was a bad idea," Roran said. "What if the king heard?"

"How could he hear?" Katrina asked. She was still looking around nervously as though she expected him to pop out of nowhere and drag Roran away.

"Well, it doesn't matter," Roran said quickly. "You're not gonna be a rainmaker, I'm not gonna be king, and he's not gonna be a rider, and everything's gonna work fine the way it's supposed to. So there."

_Straight up, what did you hope to learn about here  
If I were someone else, would this all fall apart  
Strange, where were you, when we started this gig,  
I wish the real world, would just stop hassling me_

"It was still a fun game," Katrina said quietly. She looked ready to cry.

Roran bit his lip. Eragon knew that he hated seeing girls cry.

"Don't cry, Katrina," he said, tentatively putting a hand on her back. "It's alright. It was a fun game. Wasn't it fun, Eragon?"  
"It was fun," Eragon agreed. "You don't need to be upset. Galbatorix won't come and get us, and we'll happy being normal farmers, like Roran said."

"Yeah," Katrina agreed. "That could work out fine."

"You don't have to think that," Roran said suddenly. "I mean, be happy with the way it's gonna be and all, but you can still dream, I guess. And you too, Eragon."

The two younger children looked at Roran curiously. The older boy just shook his head and said, "But don't get too caught up in dreams. There's still the real world."

Katrina rolled her eyes. "Let's just drop it, okay?"

Roran realized that he'd offended her and said, "No, I mean, it was a good game, but it's just dreams and stuff. You started, so I thought I'd just say…"

"I know what's dreaming, and I know what's real, Roran," Katrina said, smiling slightly.

"I do too," Eragon put in. He didn't know what was going on between Roran and Katrina, so he decided to just keep going with the conversation as though he did.

"Well, that's good," Roran said awkwardly.

_Straight up, what did you hope to learn about here  
If I were someone else, would this all fall apart  
Strange, where were you, when we started this gig,  
I wish the real world, would just stop hassling me_

Well, I hope you liked it. Please R&R.


End file.
